Countdown to Hurricanes Hoops: A Brief Conversation with Trey McKinney Jones

Help us countdown to hoops season! We here at SOTU plan to publish a player profile for each roster member of the Canes men's hoop squad. Today #4 is our first in this series.

Trey McKinney Jones, often referred to by fans as "TMJ," joined the Canes as a transfer from University of Missouri- Kansas City in 2010. After sitting out the required season in 10/11 he saw his first action as a Junior last year for Miami. He quickly found a home on the court under Coach L's system which utilizes athletic, quick shooters like Trey playing in all 33 games. He averaged 7 points and 3.5 rebounds and shot 72% from the FT line and 47% from the field.

We had a chance to speak with Trey recently and he said in the off season he has been working on "coming off the dribble and getting to the basket," to compliment his outside shooting ability. Last year Trey started 12 straight games and once Reggie Johnson returned to the lineup he gave the team valuable depth off the bench being able to spell both the guards and forwards. This year one of Trey's personal goals is to be a "player coach can't take out of a game."

We look for Trey to play a more expanded role in Coach L's up tempo game. When asked about the biggest difference from this year to last Trey said simply "more experience (under Larranaga) and a veteran team." He said the team's conditioning has greatly improved and that has allowed them to work on "the scramble a lot more in practice early and that is going to be a big part of our defense, getting up and down the court for quick layups and open 3's in transition."

Trey's message for the fans? "It's going to be an exciting year!"

Interesting factoids on Trey, his aunt Esther won Olympic gold as part of the 4X100 relay team in 1992 for the US and his uncle Mark Jones played basketball professionally in the NBA and overseas.